A Lesson
by amythegirlwhoiswaiting
Summary: After Loki pulls a harmful trick on some Asgardians, Odin banishes him to Midgard with a curse to teach him a lesson in thinking of others over himself.
1. Chapter 1

I'm just gonna come right out and tell you that this story has absolutely nothing at all to do with the storylines in Thor, The Avengers, or Thor: the Dark World. I only stole the characters, Loki and Odin.

As always, Loki and friends do not belong to me. They belong to either Marvel or Norse mythology, whichever you like.

* * *

"Enough, Loki!" Odin boomed over Loki's laughter, "Do you not see what you have done?" It was a tense atmosphere surrounding them all, accentuated by the laughing, to which only Loki contributed. Catching his breath, Loki replied, looking up at Odin, "Ehehehe... It was just a small trick, father!" Odin's brow darkened as he gestured to the Asgardians who had become victims of Loki's 'trick'. "'Just a small trick' does not end with people being harmed!" he barked, making Loki finally look around him to see the damage he had caused. Several people lay on the ground, some merely knocked unconscious, some bleeding from wounds. His eyes locked onto a little boy, crying over what could only be his father as his mother (and the man's wife) glared back at him. Loki's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. He tried to summon words to explain himself. "This is... I didn't-" he stammered, quailing under the Allfather's disapproving scowl as Odin's rage visibly grew. "You didn't think it through? You didn't plan ahead? Or was it just that you didn't scheme a way to get yourself out of trouble?" Odin questioned in a loud, clear voice that everybody present could hear. He circled around towards Loki, the latter standing there meekly, awaiting his punishment.

It was all an act, of course. On the outside, Loki wanted to appear appropriately penitent in order to get out of this. Even if he couldn't, the worst he was expecting was the usual: a light slap on the wrist accompanied by a scolding, and then he'd be on his way to cause chaos again, as was his nature. As expected, Odin continued speaking and Loki drifted off a little, replacing Odin's words with "Blah, blah, blah" in his own mind as he kept up his outward act. Suddenly, he was jarred from his reverie as Odin pointed Gungnir towards him, shooting a beam at him which divested him of his royal armor, leaving him wearing naught but commoner's clothes. _Wait. Waitwaitwaitwait. This is not supposed to happen. What's going on?_ Frantically, Loki tried to grasp onto what Odin said next. "Time and again, you have done this, Loki. You must be taught a lesson in thinking of others above yourself, in understanding other peoples' pains and not only your own," Odin rumbled as Loki looked on in horror. _He won't. He wouldn't_, Loki thought, _Would he?_ "I hereby sentence you to exile on Midgard. With you, you take a curse; you will feel the pain of every being around you. I, Odin Allfather, cast you out!" Odin decreed, raising Gungnir again to point at Loki. Loki raised his hands in desperation, crying, "Wai-" But his plea for reconsideration was unheard. The last thing Loki saw was another beam shooting at him before all went black.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ughhhh..." Loki groaned as he regained consciousness, "Wha' happened..?" It was dark all around him, but, laying on his back and looking up, he could see the night sky through what appeared to be trees. _So, I'm in a forest somewhere... Probably in the middle of nowhere_, he thought, bitterly thinking of Odin. Sitting up, he looked around. He was indeed able to see trees around him in all directions. Oddly enough, though, he thought he heard a sort of rushing sound, almost like water, but more mechanical, off in the distance. He rose to wander through the forest in the direction of the sounds. They continued to get louder and closer, and suddenly, he walked out to find himself looking out upon what was clearly a big city.

Loki's eyes widened as he croaked, "Wh-what?" It was all too much to take in. The city lights shone out from the tall buildings around him to illuminate his path as he tentatively stepped from the grass to the pavement, a stark contrast between the two. The sort of rushing sound he'd been hearing seemed to be coming from box-looking things zooming by on the streets at varying intervals. From what he could see, they appeared to be driven by people inside. "Cars..." Loki muttered to himself, recognizing them from a previous visit, though they had advanced by bounds. "I'm on Midgard, aren't I?" he groaned to himself.

Backing away from the city, he turned to head back into the forest. _This must be a park or something of the like_, he thought, _I'll rest in here until daylight. Then I'll get my bearings..._ He had completely forgotten Odin's words and the curse he had placed upon him. But come morning, he would be reminded in a manner most harsh.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Loki awoke, ready to learn where he was and, more importantly, how to get back to Asgard. He took a moment and was glad to find that his magic hadn't been taken. With a flourish, he changed his Asgardian clothing to some more suitable for this climate. The sun seemed to be scarce here, wherever 'here' was, so he favored a black trenchcoat and green scarf, also opting to carry an umbrella with him, as it looked as if it might rain at any moment, from what he could see through the treetops. "Alright," Loki said to himself as he looked out through the trees to where he could see pavement, "Let's find out where I am..."

Loki started off down the street. He seemed to be in a somewhat residential area of the city; the buildings were tall and many in number, but none held signs or indications as to what they were. He decided to walk until he found some shops, then ask where he was, and possibly obtain a map.

As he walked along at a leisurely, unworried pace, he was passed by a middle-aged gentleman rushing down the sidewalk and speaking into a thin, rectangular device, a stressed look on his face. Loki couldn't make out the words he was saying, but could hear the tight, rushed voice the man was using. As he watched the man go, he was left feeling a nervous, anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach, his mind fraught with worries that were not his own. _Odd..._ Loki thought, frowning at the sensation, but quickly forgot about the incident when he saw that the street he had turned onto had shops further down. He quickened his pace a bit to see what he could find out.

Spotting what seemed like a promising shop, he strode inside to find it was a clothing shop. Rather small, not very busy, but with a pleasant-looking clerk behind the counter watching a small box intently. She looked up when Loki entered, pulling a smile to her face at once. "Hello, sir," she greeted with a lilting accent that sounded like Loki's own, "Can I help you with anything?" She stood up as she spoke and Loki took two paces to stand at the counter, resting his gloved hands on it. "Yes, please. I wonder, do you have a map of the city?" he asked warmly, adding a charming smile for good measure. He added, lightly laughing at himself like he was embarrassed, "I seem to have lost myself..."

The clerk shot him a confused look and questioned him, albeit politely, "You sound like you're from around here..." Loki nodded, conjuring up a lie quickly. "Yes, but I've been away. It must have been years..." he said ponderously. As he replied, the clerk had turned to shuffle with something beneath the counter; Loki assumed she was finding the map he had requested. He turned his attention to look around the shop. It seemed like there was only one other customer. Loki's eyes drifted right over the somewhat heavier young woman as she gazed into the mirror sadly at her reflection. What Loki did notice was the sadness in his heart, the feeling of self-consciousness and inadequacy, the longing to change his appearance.

A small frown creased his brow. Where had that thought come from? "Here we are, darling," the clerk said, drawing Loki's attention back to her. At the casual term of endearment, the negative emotions were banished away at once and Loki forgot about them. "This should get you around London all right," the clerk added. Opening the map, she explained where they were and some nearby landmarks. Loki in turn asked where he could find some lodgings for the night. The clerk recommended a hotel, as she said, 'a stone's throw away from Regent's Park', circling it for him in red pen for good measure. She told him that he could take a bus to get there the fastest. Thanking her profusely, Loki took the map, folding it up to put in his pocket, and exited the shop.

Loki hadn't taken two steps outside when a girl with wires coming from tiny devices in her ears bumped into him. At once, Loki felt his senses leave him; he felt nothing. It seemed as though everything was pointless, hopeless. What was the point of going on? All of this came over him very suddenly and almost no time passed until the girl looked up at him out of dead eyes from under her dark fringe. "Sorry..." she muttered, turning to continue on her previous path. Loki frowned after her, absently rubbing his wrists which had twinged with pain, the only thing he felt until the girl walked out of sight. He found this absence of feeling more difficult to shake off than any actual emotion. Slowly, he turned to walk towards the bus stop the clerk had told him about.

As he had been promised, it didn't take long to reach the bus stop from the clothing shop. Standing to one side of the small bus shelter, he took a moment to gather his bearings. _Okay_, he thought to himself, steepling his hands over his mouth to think, looking aimlessly at the ground, _You know that you're in London. You know that London is the capitol of England, which means that you are indeed on Midgard. You know that you are going to a hotel near a 'Regent's Park'. What you don't know is how to get back to Asgard. I doubt that calling for Heimdall will work..._

While Loki was thinking, a teenage girl, about eighteen or nineteen, had come to stand on the opposite side of the bus shelter from him. She had taken notice of his looks when she had arrived, and kept glancing over at him, each time longer than the last. Loki didn't fail to notice her attention, and began to become irritated by it. "What are you staring at?" he asked, lowering his hands to turn and confront her. She blushed at once to have been caught. "I-I'm sorry, sir," she stammered, "It's just... You remind me of Sherlock!" A smile came to her face as she admitted the reason behind her staring. But Loki tilted his head and quirked an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Sherlock?" he questioned.

At once, the girl pulled a rectangular device from her purse. With the push of a button, the once-blank black screen shone with light and the girl held out the device to show Loki the image that it displayed. "This is Sherlock," she explained, adding, "I'm surprised you haven't seen the show; it's great! Anyways, I just thought you looked like the main character because of your scarf, and the way you turned up the collar of your trenchcoat, and especially the way you were thinking just now!" As she said the last part, she mimicked the way that Loki had been holding his hands in front of his mouth. "It's Sherlock's trademark," she said brightly.

By now, Loki was even more befuddled. "Ridiculous," he scoffed, making the girl's smile drop from her face. She seemed to droop as she backed away again to her side of the bus shelter, putting her phone away. But Loki felt the dejected feeling as well, the rejection, the shame. Could it be because of her? Thinking fast, Loki quickly amended his words. "I'm so sorry, that was rude of me," he apologized, drawing the girl's attention again. With a small smile, he added, "If this 'show' of yours brings you joy, you should enjoy it fully; don't let people like me ruin it for you." With the joke, the girl giggled and nodded her thanks, and Loki was relieved to find that the sinking feeling in his heart had gone away too. Just then, the bus arrived and Loki boarded, his mind reeling.

When the bus stopped where he wanted to get off, Loki did so, taking out his map to decide which way to turn. It didn't take him long to figure it out, and he started out again, making for the hotel. As he walked, he thought back over his morning, and what a strange morning it had been. He had never before in his life been attacked by random emotions like he had been so far. _Where could they possibly be coming from?_ he thought, racking his brain, _Is there something wrong with me? Was it the impact when I landed that affected me somehow?_ He had forgotten all about Odin's curse, the memory somewhat fuzzy. But it slowly started to come back to him.

Just then, a businesswoman passed by. Out of nowhere, Loki's midsection was shot through with excrutiating pain. Tears sprang to his eyes as he tried to suppress it; he was hard pressed not to double over with pain right there and curl up in a ball on the street. "Ow..." he whimpered quietly, holding his hands tightly around his stomach and trying not to draw too much attention to himself. Watching as the businesswoman walked out of sight, Loki felt the pain fade away the further she got from him. With a glimmer of understanding, he started to remember what had happened in Asgard... Odin's voice echoed in his head: _I hereby sentence you to exile on Midgard..._

Trying to reach the hotel, now desperate, he quickened his pace. A little boy came skipping along then. With wide eyes, Loki watched as he tripped and fell, skinning his knee. Immediately, Loki felt his own knee burn with pain. He winced and watched the boy's eyes well up before he got up again to turn and run away as he cried. Loki felt the urge to cry rising in his own chest, as well as wanting to go running home to his mommy. "No!" Loki spat to himself as he blinked away the tears, "This is ridiculous! I am a grown man!" _With you, you take a curse..._

Loki turned the corner onto the street that the hotel was on. Across the street, as promised, was a park, but he wasn't concerned by the park at the moment. For now, he wanted solitude. He needed to figure out what was going on. But blocking the way between him and the hotel was a mass of people all dressed in black, some of them holding handkerchiefs to their red eyes, all of them looking very sorrowful. Loki came to a screeching halt. The combined anguish of all those people had overcome Loki like a tidal wave. It became too much for him to bear, so he turned and ran in the opposite direction as Odin's final words finally came to him: _You will feel the pain of every being around you._

"No! No, please!" he cried as tears streamed from his eyes, the effects of the pain of all those people still affecting him. "Heimdall!" he cried, suddenly coming to a stop, drawing stares from people around him, "Heimdall, open the Bifrost!" Nothing happened. Desperately, Loki pleaded, "Heimdall, please! Please! I've learned my lesson!" Still nothing. Cursing silently, Loki looked around at the stares he was receiving. He needed to get away from everybody. Remembering the park across the road, he ran across, paying no mind to the traffic, and escaped into relative solitude.

* * *

Yes, I made Loki feel period cramps.


	4. Chapter 4

Loki sat on a bench in Regent's Park, his head in his hands as he tried to take in his situation. _Think, Loki, think... It's what you're best at, after all_, he thought bitterly, trying not to add, _It's not thinking that got you into this mess to begin with_. Shaking his head sharply and taking a deep breath to clear his mind, he kept his head in his hands and his eyes closed.

_Okay, you have a curse_, he thought, _This curse makes you feel the pain of other people. You're surrounded by people, and you can assume that cutting yourself off entirely is next to impossible. Also, a lot of people seem to constantly be in some form of pain or another at all times._ He frowned, aiming his thoughts in a new direction. _So you can't escape from people. Well, what about escaping the curse?_ But his heart sank as he came to a realization. _You don't know how to get rid of the curse, nor can you get to Asgard to obtain information about it._

With another heavy sigh, he thought, _This is not good. It's not like I can just kill everybody. No doubt I'd feel that pain a billion times over, not to mention get locked away for eternity. What am I supposed to do?_ Just then, he heard a worn voice beside him on the bench ask, "Having a rough day?"

Loki looked over sharply to see that he had been joined by an elderly gentleman who was sitting and leaning forward on his cane as he looked at Loki with genuine, caring eyes. Loki just sighed, waving him away as he put his head in his hands again. "Please, I wish to be alone," he muttered. However, the old man wasn't one to give up so easily. "Come now. Talking about it will make you feel better," he wheedled. Loki looked back over at him, frowning, still not responding.

The old man pressed, "Is it girl troubles?" Loki sighed and answered simply, "No." The man nodded, thinking for a bit. "Guy troubles?" he asked. Loki stared at him and the man just shrugged in a 'you never know' gesture. "No," Loki replied again. "Is it a money proble-" the old man started but Loki cut him off. "Look, are you going to leave me alone?" he asked harshly. The old man just sat back, still watching him. Loki narrowed his eyes, noticing that he didn't seem to be affected by his harsh words as the 'Sherlock' girl from earlier had been.

"Why do you care so much anyway?" Loki asked, now interested, "It's not your problem." The old man shook his head at once. "But it is my problem!" he exclaimed. At Loki's confused expression, he explained, "Every day, you see people hurt with their day's worries, their problems... Life, really. But what you never see is anybody stopping to help." Loki sat back on the bench, beginning to understand as the old man continued, "I figure if I can help at least one person, I've made a difference. Imagine what a difference could be made if everybody stopped to help other people."

Finally, Loki got it. He remembered how the clerk earlier had pulled him from his slump in the clothing shop with her kindness and generosity. With a jolt of surprise, he realized that he had even done it earlier with the 'Sherlock' girl when she began to be disheartened by his unthinking words. He had been able to pull her back. Sudden realization flowing through him, he realized that it had felt... good!

Suddenly, he stood, anxious to put his epiphany to practice. The old man watched him, surprised. Remembering him, Loki turned to point at him excitedly. "You, man! What's your name?" he asked. The man was bewildered, but answered, "Uh... William." Loki took the man's hand in his own, shaking it. "Thank you, William! Thank you so much!" With that, he ran off, leaving William sitting there staring after him. "What did I do?" he wondered blankly.


	5. Chapter 5

Over the next few days, Loki pondered how to make use of his knowledge. He knew his goal was to make as many people happy as possible. _How do I do that though?_ he thought as he paced his hotel room, _How to reach as many people as possible?_ When his eyes fell on the television, he found his answer. He had examined it on his first day and discovered that it magically brought moving pictures to its viewer, like a scrying device. He remembered how the two happiest people he had met both had connections to it. The clerk had been watching a device like the television in the clothing shop, and the 'Sherlock' girl had mentioned her favorite show, which Loki learned was distributed through the television. _Fame..._ Loki thought, _Fame is how I can impact people, and I can use this device to reach them._

He fashioned himself a new identity, a new appearance. He changed his sleek, black hair to the complete opposite: blonde curls. He changed his eye color from green to blue. Just for good measure, he added some stubble to his chin. Now he just needed a name. He learned that it was common on Midgard for people to have three names. The first he took from a book, the second from the old man in the park, and the third from the local newspaper.

Thomas. William. Hiddleston.

* * *

And that, boys and girls, is why Tom Hiddleston is the perfect bastard that he is today!


End file.
